'Teaching worthwhile career for graduates'

A leading education recruiter has said he finds it hard to understand why so many graduates dismissed the education sector in two recent polls.

Luke Graham, head of recruitment at the Training and Development Agency for Schools, said that teaching offers both competitive salaries and many opportunities for real career progress.

He said: "It's difficult to understand why the public have a low perception of the opportunities for career progression in teaching.

"Recent research from the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services shows that teachers disagree with public perceptions - 81 per cent of teachers said they felt there were plenty of opportunities to progress."

Mr Graham was speaking in response to two surveys - a High Fliers poll of 1,000 UK graduates that found more than 80 per cent underestimate the starting salary of a teacher and an ICM survey of the public which ranked teaching as one of the worst careers for progression.